Noticed
by lacenoel
Summary: My version of how Kim and Jared began to notice each other and became a couple. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer, of course. This is just my take on how Kim and Jared may have noticed each other**.

Kim & Jared

Noticed

"Miss Connweller? Miss Connweller?"

I was too busy daydreaming to notice that the teacher was trying to get my attention. I felt someone poke me in the back and I whipped my head up, startled out of my latest fantasy.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Connweller," the teacher said sarcastically. She turned back to face to the board and finished writing down the rest of the notes that I was supposed to be copying.

I rolled my eyes at his back before turning around in my seat to thank the girl who sat behind me, my best friend, Sarah. She grinned and went back to taking notes.

Turning back around, I glanced at across the row to the seat that was occupied by Jared, the star of my daydream, and the reason why I could never pay attention in this class. He's been all I can think about lately.

I had never really noticed him before this year, even though we had been in classes together before. This was the first year we had sat near each other. We were usually seated on opposite sides of the room.

But when I did start noticing him, boy, did I _notice_. He had grown up this year, towering over all of the girls and most of the boys, too. His black hair was shorter and it looked good.

As if he felt my stare, Jared started to pick his head up. I turned away hurriedly, looking at the blank page of my notebook. Luckily the bell rang then. I quickly gathered up my books and rushed out of the class, heading towards the parking lot.

I got to the parking lot way before Sarah did. She gave me a ride home almost every day. I sat on the bench on the grass near her car, waiting.

A couple minutes later, Sarah showed up. "What did you do, sprint here?" she asked jokingly, "Are you trying to get on the track team or something?" Sarah always made stupid, corny jokes like that.

"Oh yeah, definitely," I said. She unlocked the car and we both got in. She turned on the radio, and squealed when she heard her favorite song of the week. She blasted it, singing along off-key. I didn't mind: this gave me more time to think of the one thing (well, person) that was never far from my mind.

That night, I dreamed about Jared.

**Reviews are appreciated! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

Chapter 2

I woke up that morning, feeling happy. I always woke up in a good mood when I dreamt about Jared. Of course, then I got a little upset because I wanted the dream to keep on going and never end. But the good feelings of the dreams usually wiped out the bad. Usually.

I showered and then got ready for school. Sarah was always early when she picked me up. Sure enough, by the time I walked out of the door, backpack and two bagels in hand, her old blue car was waiting patiently in the driveway. Sarah never honked the horn like some people do, to let me know she was here. She thought it was rude, and so she ended up waiting for me for a couple minutes every morning.

"Sorry, sorry," I said. I hated to keep her waiting. I handed her one of the bagels. It was our deal; I brought her breakfast, and she drove me so I didn't have to take the bus. I was old enough to drive, but unfortunately, still hadn't saved enough money to get my own car. Sarah was luckier; her brother let her use his car while he was off at college.

The drive to school took all of five minutes. Sarah managed to find to a decent parking spot that was near the side entrance of the school. We walked and talked, joining our little group of friends on the benches near the parking lot. This was our morning hang out spot, the place where we spent the ten minutes before first period.

My group of friends weren't the coolest people, but we weren't social outcasts either. We fell somewhere in the middle of the high school social hierarchy. Jared on the other hand was on the popular end of the scale, which made him out of my league. Yet, there was something about him that I couldn't get out of my head.

The bell rang, and the day went by the same as any other day. I went to the same classes, sat with the same people, and even ate the same boring sandwich at lunch. Overall, a completely normal day at school. Then, it was time for last period, my favorite of the day, thanks to Jared.

I walked in with Sarah just on time, the bell ringing as soon as we climbed in our seats. Mr. Walsh started on his lecture immediately. I was only half listening to him, the other half of my mind focused on daydreaming. The period flew by, and the bell soon rang again. The class started to get up, but Mr. Walsh yelled us to sit back down so he could hand out some papers.

Mr. Walsh handed a stack of papers to the first person in each row, who then passed them backwards. I watched as someone handed Jared a stack. Jared swiveled in his seat to hand the papers to the person behind him. As he did this our eyes met. I tried to look away but his gaze was so intense. I couldn't break away. He stared and I stared back. Then his expression changed to one that looked like shock and I was able to look back down at my desk. I could feel his eyes still burning into me for a few seconds after that. I stood up quickly, carefully avoiding his gaze. I practically fled the room, leaving some of my books behind.

"_What was that?"_ I thought to myself. "_What just happened?"_

Someone was shouting something. "Kim! Kim! Wait up!"

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**Review please! ****Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 3**

I stopped and turned around. It was Jared. "_Don't panic,"_ my brain was trying to communicate with the rest of my body, "_Just keep calm and don't act like an idiot." _Easier said than done.

He was jogging through the crowd, carrying the books I had left behind. "You left these in class" he said, handing them to me. He was staring again, looking me straight in the eyes, as if he was searching for something in them. It was very forceful and once more I had trouble looking away.

"Thanks," I mumbled, breaking my gaze away. I turned to leave, when he said, "Wait up. Let me walk you to the parking lot." I was confused. I had barely spoken to Jared since the beginning of school, but now he wanted to walk me to the parking lot? However, I wasn't confused enough to stop him. It was raining outside so I pulled up the hood on my sweatshirt.

We started to walk towards the lot. I tried to pretend like this wasn't completely weird, that I didn't notice anyone staring. But it was weird, and people were staring. Eyebrows were raised and there were whispers as we passed by. Jared didn't say anything, just glanced over at me a couple of times. He didn't seem to notice the staring and whispering.

When we got to the parking lot, he stopped, so I stopped too. "Where's your car?" he asked.

"Umm, I drove with Sarah today. She's parked over by the side there." I pointed vaguely towards Sarah's car. "So, uh thanks for walking me here. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Do you want a ride home? I mean, I'm already here, and that way you don't have to wait in the rain for Sarah," he asked, looking hopeful. What was going on here? He looked so earnest; I didn't think it was a prank or anything. But then what _was_ happening?

Still very confused, I answered, "Sure, thanks." We began to walk towards the opposite end of the parking lot.

"Sorry, I got here late today so I didn't get a good spot." We walked over to his car, an old black one, like many of the others in the lot. I had no idea what kind of car it was, since I knew nothing about cars.

He unlocked it and I climbed into the passenger side. It was pretty clean inside, with a couple CD cases strewn on the floor. Jared sat down in driver's side and the car roared to life, the radio blasting. He quickly fumbled at the volume control, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry about that. My friends were in here early and we were listening to some new song."

I smiled. "Yeah, me and Sarah do that all the time on our way to school." I was amazed that I could hold a normal conversation when I sitting in Jared's car, with Jared less than a foot away. I pulled out my phone, quickly texting Sarah that I didn't need a ride home.

Jared pulled out of the parking lot. I found out that it was surprisingly easy to talk to Jared. He was so easygoing. We talked about class and about our mutual dislike for Mr. Walsh. Too soon, we were at my house.

"So, uh, thanks for the ride," I said.

"It was no problem. And hey, I know Sarah drives you in the morning, but do you want a ride home after school?"

Was he kidding? Of course I did. "That would be nice, thanks."

He smiled, "See you tomorrow then." He waited until I had gotten into the house before he pulled away. I stood inside the doorway for a minute, a stupid grin on my face. Then I ran up to my room and called Sarah immediately.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

Chapter 4

"OH MY GOD!" shrieked Sarah as soon as she picked up the phone, "I can't believe it! He drove you home!" Sarah's already high-pitched voice was now reaching incredible decibels. I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

"I know, it's weird right?"

"Not weird, just amazing! How did this happen?" That was the same question I was asking myself. Why was Jared suddenly interested in me now? Was he interested in the same way I was or did he just want to be friends?

"I have no idea."

"You sound like you're in shock or something."

"I am in shock. It was just so random. Do you think he likes me?" I asked.

"Of course he does! Why else would he drive you home today?"

"Umm I don't know."

"So, what did you talk about?"

"Just about school and stuff. Oh, and he said he'll drive me home again tomorrow."

I had to hold the phone away from my ear again, as Sarah shrieked. "OH MY GOD! How can you say that so nonchalant?"

"I'm not nonchalant, I just choose not to scream about it."

"And I would love to scream about it some more but I have to go pick up the brat from school." The brat is her little sister, Kat. "So I'm still driving you in the morning right? Or is Jared doing that, too?"

"No, no, I still need a ride. See you then."

"Bye."

I flopped back on my bed, letting the phone fell onto the nightstand. The whole afternoon felt surreal to me, almost like a dream. I couldn't believe Jared had driven me home. And I had managed to not act like a complete idiot, so that was a plus. We actually had an entire conversation without me saying anything stupid or awkward.

Since this wasn't a dream, that meant I had to do the regular boring things I did everyday like homework, chores, and starting dinner. I pulled out my notebooks and got started. Soon it was dark and I knew my parents would be home before long. I went into the kitchen and put on some water to boil. I also got out some spaghetti out and left it on the counter.

I went back up to my room, since I wanted to finish up my pre-calculus homework. I was sitting at my desk, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of brown among the green of the trees. I stood up and went over to the window. There were only the green trees and the green bushes. But after a moment I saw another patch of brown in one of the bushes. I could only see part of whatever was in the bush, but it looked like a giant dog's paw. I tried to find the rest of the animal, but it was too dark to make out much more.

I sighed and went back to my homework. The rest of the night went by quickly and I went to bed early. It took me forever to fall asleep though; I was too excited for what my day would be like tomorrow.

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The next morning, I rushed through my usual routine, eager to get to school. This time it wasn't Sarah waiting in the driveway; it was me. She looked surprised, but that was to be expected- this was the first time I had ever gotten ready on time. I handed her the granola bars as I got in the car.

"Write this day down in the history books, Kim is actually ready for the first time ever!"

"Drama queen," I muttered.

We got to school earlier than usual, so most of our friends weren't there. Not wanting to look like loners sitting by ourselves, we stayed in the car and ate breakfast until more people began to arrive. The bell rang not long after that. We got out of the car at the same time that across the lot a familiar black car was pulling in. I smiled, and Sarah noticed. She followed my gaze to Jared's car, and rolled her eyes.

Somehow, from all the way across the parking lot, Jared looked up right at me. He smiled and waved. I waved back before Sarah started yanking my arm and dragging me to our first period class. I couldn't wait until last period.

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Longest chapter so far! Reviews please?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 5**

I didn't catch a glimpse of Jared for the rest of the day. Usually I see him once or twice in the hall, but not today. At lunch, Sarah came over to our table, looking like she was trying to hide something. She launched into a conversation with someone else at our table, carefully avoiding looking at me. I knew something was up.

"Sarah, you need to buy lunch right? Let's go now, I'll go with you," I practically dragged her with me.

"What's going on?" I asked, once we were away from the table.

"What?" she said, trying to pretend like she wasn't hiding anything.

"I know you, you're not telling me something. Spill."

"Ugh, okay, well I was in art today, and our class combined with the other class like we sometimes do when Mrs. Reese isn't there." She was purposefully looking down at the ground, away from me.

"So?" I said.

"And Jared is in the other class, but today he wasn't there." She looked up. "So how is he going to give you a ride home?"

"You mean he's ditching me?" My heart dropped. I had been in such a good mood, but suddenly the day didn't seem so good anymore.

"Maybe he left you a text, check your phone."

There were no new messages.

Sarah tried to cheer me up. "I'm sure he has a reason. There's probably a perfectly logical explanation. Maybe he got sick or something."

"Maybe," I said glumly, not believing it.

"_Or maybe he just wanted to string me along, make me think that he liked me when it was all just a game to him," _I thought. Maybe I was being overdramatic; it was just a ride home after all. But I had really thought that Jared might be starting to like me, and it was kind of crushing to realize that he didn't even care enough to bother to tell me to get another ride. I would have waited out in the parking lot like an idiot, waiting for him, if Sarah hadn't told me.

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The rest of the day passed by. I considered skipping last period, maybe begging Sarah to cut with me. But I knew she would never agree to that, and I had no other way to leave, since Jared wouldn't be driving me. I walked in with my head down, only glancing up to confirm that Jared's seat was empty. It was. The bell rang, and Mr. Walsh started on another lecture. I tuned him out, doodling on my notebook, instead.

"I hope you have a pass!" Mr. Walsh boomed, startling me out of my daydream.

"I do, sorry I'm late," It was Jared, looking drenched from the rain outside. His shoes made squeaking sounds as he walked up to Mr. Walsh's desk, laying a pass on it. Mr. Walsh glared at him the entire time.

"Just sit down, and be quiet," Mr. Walsh said and resumed his lecture.

Jared met my eyes as he walked to his seat. "_Hey_," he mouthed to me, not wanting Mr. Walsh to hear. "_Hi,_" I mouthed back, not able to keep the little grin off my face. He didn't ditch me! He was here! The period flew by after that. The bell rang; Jared was grinning as he sauntered up to my desk, "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yup," I gathered up my things, stuffing my notebook into my bag.

"That's pretty cool," he said, pointing to the design I had made on my notebook.

"Thanks, it's nothing really," I said. We walked out of the classroom and started down the hallway. "Just a way to make it through Walsh's class without falling asleep. His voice is so monotone and I hate the way he makes everyone feel so stupid."

He smiled, "I know what you mean. I feel like a part of my soul dies a little every time I go to that class." We had arrived at his car and both of us got in.

On the way to my house, we talked about which teachers were the worst, which led to the debate on which teachers make us die of boredom. It was like what I had found out the other day; Jared was such an easy person to talk to. I wished we could just stay in his car like this for hours.

But this was real life, and we only had about five minutes before we were at my house.

"So," he said. He was looking at me, in a way that I was familiar with. I had been kissed in a car before and Jared was looking at me the way, Trevor, the first boy I ever kissed had looked that time. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I became hyper aware of the way Jared was leaning towards me and the way I was leaning back. I could see his eyelashes, the black center of his brown eyes before I closed my eyes and leaned in a little more.

Our lips met, and it was like I had stuck my finger in an electrical socket, but in the best possible way, if that makes any sense. Kissing Jared was nothing like kissing Trevor. Kissing Jared was completely amazing, and kissing Trevor could never compare. All I could think was, "_YES! He does like me!_"

After a minute or two I pulled away, needing to breathe. He was smiling, and so was I. "So, hey" he said. I gave a little breathless laugh. "Hi," I said back. He reached over and took my tiny hand in his huge one. He twisted his fingers through mine and said, "So what are you doing tomorrow after school?"

I thought for a moment then answered, "Sarah was trying to force to go to some new movie with her, but I don't think I'm going to go."

"Do you want to hang out then?"

"_YES_!" screamed the inner me. "_He's asking you out, moron, say yes_!" Inner me was not very kind. I was going to say yes, but I didn't want to act too desperate.

"Sure, that sounds good."

"Ok, cool," He lifted our intertwined fingers to kiss the back of my palm. "I'll see you tomorrow." He let go of my hand, and I opened the door, grabbing my bag as I left. I refrained from skipping up to the door, instead walking calmly and waving to him before I went inside. He waved back and drove off.

Only once I was safely inside did I let myself do a little skip and dance around the house, a big smile on my face. Of course then I felt ridiculous, so I went up to my room to lie across my bed and try to do my homework, while really thinking about Jared.

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**Reviews please?**

**Oh, and I don't if anyone wants to know this, but I was listening to "1234" by the Plain White T's when I wrote parts of this. I think it's the perfect song for Jared and Kim.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 6**

Later that day, when it was starting to get dark, I saw that flash of brown outside my window again. I still couldn't make out anything except that it was big, whatever it was. I wondered if I should tell someone. What if it was a bear or something? When I looked up again though, it was gone.

I still hadn't told Sarah what had happened with Jared yesterday. On the way to school, I spilled everything. I probably should have waited until we were safely parked at school. When I told her we had kissed, she screamed and swerved into the other lane. "Sarah!" I exclaimed. Luckily, no one else was on the road. She wanted to know every single detail. I didn't tell her everything, but I gave her the basics.

By the time we got to school, Sarah had severely damaged my hearing with the amount of shrieking and screaming she had done. "This is so exciting!" she said, as we walked to our hang out spot. "So are you two like going out now?"

I stopped and grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop with me. "What?" she said.

"Please do not go telling everybody everything, ok? This is new and I don't want to mess it up," I said. I didn't want to be today's newest gossip.

"Ok, ok, I won't mention you and Jared at all."

"Thanks."

I let her walk over to the benches then. I scanned the parking lot before I followed. No sign of Jared, but I wasn't going to let that phase me like it did yesterday. He was probably just late again.

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I was happy that I didn't let myself freak out because when I walked into last period, Jared was there. He smiled at me, but we didn't have time to talk since the bell rang as soon as I sat down. We weren't able to say anything until class was over. Since it was Friday, most of the people ran out of class, excited for the weekend. Jared sauntered over to my desk while I put my books in my bag. "Hey," he said, with a smile. "Hi," I said, back.

"I was thinking we could go to movies? Is that okay?" he asked.

"Yeah that sounds good."

"That new action one is out. I forget the name but I hear it's supposed to be really intense. Want to see it?"

"Sure, fine with me." I didn't really care what movie we saw. This was my first official date with Jared and I was so excited. We drove over to the theater, which didn't take too long. It was pretty crowded, which was to be expected. It was pouring out and there wasn't much else to do here besides see a movie. There were a lot of kids from school at the theater. I guess the news of Jared and me hadn't spread too quickly; there were several surprised faces in the crowd. The rumor mill wasn't working that fast I guess.

We had to wait in line, which was luckily under an overhang, so we didn't get soaked. Jared slid his arm around my waist while we were standing there, pulling me closer towards him. I was content to just stay like this, and miss the movie entirely. Unfortunately, we moved forward and Jared had to move his arm in order to take out his wallet.

I quickly fumbled with the latch on my bag to take out my money, but as I pulled out my wallet, another hand stopped me. Jared pushed my wallet back into my bag. "Don't," he said, "I got this."

"Are you sure? I can-"

Jared smiled as he said, "You can't. I won't let you pay when I asked you out in the first place." I didn't argue with him again. If he wanted to pay so badly who was I to stop him?

He handed the cashier some money and she handed us our tickets. Jared let me split the cost of the snacks and drinks with him, even though I tried to pay for it all. There were already a lot of people in the theater, so we took seats near the back. We were just in time: as soon as we sat down, the lights started to dim.

I couldn't tell you what was going on in that movie. All I knew was there were a lot of gunshots and loud noises. I was staring at the screen, but my attention was focused on the boy sitting next to me. Jared had put up the armrest that had been between us, so now there was nothing separating us. We both seemed to slide towards each other, but not noticing until our legs touched. Jared slid his arm around the back of my chair, while I leaned against his shoulder. This was the most relaxed and content I had felt all day. It was heaven.

Then I felt something vibrating against my leg. It was Jared's phone, which was in the pocket of his pants that was closest to me. "Sorry," he whispered, as he reached for it. The little light of his phone lit up his face as he read the text, so I could see when his expression changed. I heard him curse under his breath.

"Is everything ok?" I asked.

He sighed. "Do you mind if we leave early?" He didn't give any explanations or explain what the text had said.

"Uh, sure," I said, surprised. I hadn't expected this. We stood up, apologizing as we brushed past the other people in our row. They glared at us as we went by.

Jared didn't say anything as we walked to his car. He didn't try to hold my hand or put his arm around me. He looked kind of mad. I wondered what was going on. Was it something to do with me? I thought everything had been going great, but maybe I was wrong.

"I have to take you home," was the first thing he said as we got into the car. I could tell that my face had fallen into a stricken expression. Jared wasn't looking at me though. He was staring straight ahead as he drove. He looked angry, but I had no idea what was wrong. Who had texted him and put him in such a mood? "Umm, ok," I said. Really what else could I say?

The ride home was pretty silent. I glanced over at Jared a few times, and noticed his hands were clenched tightly onto the steering wheel. His whole body was tense just like his hands.

Jared finally looked over at me when we pulled up to my house. His face and his body language softened a bit, but there were still traces of hardness and anger . "I'm sorry," he said, running a hand through his hair, "This isn't how I wanted to end our date. I wish we could have stayed for the whole thing. There's just something I have to do." I didn't understand what he was talking about but I decided to focus on the positive parts of what he said. He wanted to be with me, wanted to finish watching the movie.

"It's okay," I said softly. I hesitantly reached out towards his face, trying to smooth away the worry lines. He caught my hand, kissed it, before moving closer and kissing my lips. Too soon, he pulled away. "It's not okay, but thanks for saying that." He gave me another quick kiss, and then I got out of the car. I made it to the door of the house, and watched him speed off.

Once inside, I felt sadness wash over me. Jared hadn't wanted to end our date early, but that didn't mean I wasn't upset. My parents were home, but I didn't feel like talking. I said hello to them, then pretended I had a huge project to do this weekend. They let me eat my dinner in my room. After I ate, I sulked for a couple hours until I finally fell asleep.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**This chapter starts off with a few of Jared's thoughts, then changes back to Kim's POV.**

**Again, I don't know if anyone wants to know this but I was listening to "With Me" by Sum 41 and "You're a Wolf" by Sea Wolf while I was writing.**

**Chapter 7**

(Jared POV)

_I needed to tell her._

_I couldn't let Kim think that I was abandoning her every time I had to go on patrol or whenever there was a bloodsucker sighting. It wasn't fair to her. _

_But I couldn't tell her yet; it was too early. She would freak out and run away from me._

_And I could never live without her._

_But this conversation will have to take place sooner than I hoped. Kim needs to understand._

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(Kim POV)

I hoped Jared would call on Saturday. He didn't. When Sarah called to see how my date was, I was pretty upset. After abruptly ending our date last night, Jared had still not called. Sarah could sense I was distressed somehow, even through the phone. She did her best to comfort me over the phone.

"I would come over," she said, "but I'm babysitting the brat tonight."

"It's okay," I replied. She made a disbelieving sound. "No really it's fine. I mean, he seemed mad that he had to bring me home, so that must mean that he wanted to spend more time together right?"

"Of course!"

"And maybe he is still busy with whatever he had to do and that's why he hasn't called."

"Yeah, probably. Boys never seem to call at the right time anyway. Remember when I went out with Bobby last year and he always waited three days to call me?"

I laughed, "Yup and every three days at exactly nine thirty, your phone would ring."

"He was so weird, who-" she began but then I heard her yelling at her sister, the brat.

"Kat, no what are you doing? Umm, Kim, I gotta go, sorry," she said.

"That's fine, see you." I heard more yelling from her side of the phone as I hung up. Even though I see what a pain Sarah's sister is, sometimes I wish I had a sibling. It always seemed like fun when I was at Sarah's house when her whole family was home. They tease and poke fun at each other, but anyone can tell how much they care about each other. I never had that; it was always just my parents and me. Don't get me wrong: my mom and dad are great and I love them. But it does get lonely being the only kid in a house.

I spent most of Sunday studying and doing homework. It wasn't a lot of fun and Jared still didn't call. I texted him, "_Hey whats up?"_ but got no answer. I was sort of nervous about seeing him at school tomorrow. We obviously had something between us, but what was it exactly? Did he feel the same way about me that I felt about him? I probably wouldn't get a chance to talk to him until after school. But I also didn't know if he was going to drive me home. He hadn't said anything about it on Friday.

Monday mornings are the worst, but today it was down right terrible. I spilled juice on the shirt I was planning on wearing, forcing me to change at the last second. I was later than normal getting to the driveway where Sarah was waiting patiently. And, of course it was raining.

Worst of all, when I got to last period, Jared wasn't there. How many times was he late to class during the year? It seemed like he was never here. If he wasn't late, he was absent all together. He was late or absent more times than he was present in class (Not that I had noticed or anything.) Where did he go all the time? Sarah drove me home, and Monday passed like any other day after that. I called Jared, since I was beginning to worry about him, but still no answer. His phone went straight to voicemail, and I left a short message just asking him to call me back when he got a chance. He didn't call.

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On Tuesday, in the middle of sixth period, the fire bell suddenly started ringing. Assuming it was just a drill, everyone headed outside. We were out there for about ten minutes, when one of the teachers said that one of the heating pipes had burst. No one was hurt but we might be stuck outside for a while. Everyone groaned. It was still raining, and most of us didn't have time to stop at our lockers to grab jackets before heading outside.

Some people started walking towards the parking lots either to sit in their cars, or to just cut school for the rest of the day and leave. I headed towards Sarah's car, but was cut off by another car, which almost ran me over. Well, maybe not quite ran me over, but it still got in the way of me and the warm, dry haven of Sarah's car. "Watch it," I yelled at the car. Then I realized whose car it was: Jared's.

He waved for me to get in. I thought about ignoring him walking past for a minute; but I knew I could never do that. I might have been mad at him, but he was still Jared and I was still totally obsessed. I got in the car. "Hey," he said. I didn't reply with my usual hi, instead I sitting silently. "Look I know you're probably mad about Friday-" he started.

"It's not just Friday," I interrupted, "It's when you didn't call on Saturday or Sunday after ending our date early for some mysterious reason that you didn't care to explain to me. I had no idea what was going on. Why couldn't you just let me know what was happening?"

We sat in silence for a moment, both us staring at each other. He looked as though he was searching for an answer in my face. He broke away first mumbling something unintelligible. "What?" I asked. He took a deep breath. "Forget it, do you want to stay here or do you mind if we leave? I have something to do and you can come if you want."

"Uhh, sure," I said surprised, "But are you going to give me some answers?"

"Maybe," was his reply.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer, of course. This is just my take on how Kim and Jared may have noticed each other**.

**Chapter 8**

It had stopped raining by the time, Jared stopped in front of house that I didn't know. "I'll be right back," he said. He walked right in the front, not stopping to knock. I wondered if this was his house; he seemed very familiar with it. He came out of the house a few minutes later. I had rolled my window down, so I heard when he yelled goodbye and waved to the person in the doorway. I looked closely and saw Emily Young standing at the door. I had read in the paper that she had gotten mauled by a bear not too long ago. Next to her was Sam Uley who I knew was her fiancée. They both smiled at me and waved. Emily called, "Hi Kim!" I waved back, confused, because I had never talked to either of them before. I had no idea how they knew who I was.

Jared seemed more lighthearted when he got back into the car. "I was thinking we could go to the beach, since it's not raining," he said. It was still cloudy, but it was pretty warm and there hadn't been any raindrops for a little while. So the beach sounded like a good idea.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

The beach wasn't far from the house, only about ten minutes or so. It wasn't crowded which was surprising since we rarely had days like this when it wasn't raining. I could only see a couple of other people way down the other end and that was it. Jared led me down towards the opposite side. I had been on this part of the beach before. There was a perfect log to lean against or sit on a little farther down. I showed it to Jared and I sat down.

Jared plopped down right next to me. He was staring out into the ocean, while I was staring at him. I was waiting for him to start talking, to give me the answers I wanted. When he didn't, I said, "So, I'm waiting." He looked over at me with one of his intense stares. He sighed. "Well to start off, I'm sorry," he said. I didn't say anything, hoping he would continue. "I was busy over the weekend and I didn't have my phone with me. I know that's a terrible excuse, but it's all I've got."

"OK, but you're still keeping something from me, I can tell. And maybe you think it's none of business, but whatever it is now is affecting me so that makes it my business too," I said.

"That's true you're right," he sighed again, but this time it seemed more frustrated. What was wrong with him now? "I just don't know how to explain this."

"Well, start at the beginning," I prompted.

He laughed. "The beginning might be a little too far back, but that might work actually. Do you know about any of the old Quileute legends?"

I thought for a moment. I remembered someone talking about them in school, but I didn't remember any specifics. I told Jared this, and he proceeded in telling me a story about how the Quileutes are descended from wolves. I didn't understand what that had to do with what was going on.

"I'm confused still, what does that have to do with us now?"

Jared was looking me straight in the eyes, as he said, "What if the legend isn't just a legend?"

An idea was forming in my head, but I ignored it for the time being. I squashed that thought down and said, "What are you saying, Jared?"

His eyes were burning holes into my face they were so intense. He was looking for a reaction, I think, of some kind, but I wasn't giving anything anyway. "I think you know what I'm getting at."

"No, enlighten me please," sarcasm seemed like a good tactic right now. My brain felt like it was overloading and I didn't want to say the wrong thing.

"What if our people were descended from wolves, if the legend of them becoming wolves was real?"

"Don't be ridiculous Jared," I tried to laugh but all that came out was a horrible choking sound. I turned away, unable to be scrutinized by him any longer. I took several deep shaky breaths. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. "Are you seriously trying to tell me you are some kind of werewolf?" I issued that awful laugh again.

Jared said nothing.

I couldn't handle this. My thoughts were in a million places at once. Jared was a werewolf? Seriously? How did I not notice this? Shouldn't there have been some kind of sign or something? I'm not always the most observant person, but I would have hoped I could have figured out that the boy I'd been obsessing over was a werewolf.

"Kim, I wan-" Jared started.

"Hold on," I interrupted, "I need a minute or two to…. compute this."

Jared was a werewolf. Jared, the boy sitting right next to me, that boy is a werewolf. He somehow transforms into a wolf and howls at the moon or something. Sarah's dog used to howl at night. Did Jared howl like that?

I turned back towards him, and saw that he looked very worried. I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself."You're a werewolf? Really?" I asked. Jared nodded. "You actually change into a wolf like the ones on the Discovery Channel?"

"Well, not exactly like that. I'm much bigger than an average wolf."

"Oh."

What was I supposed to say now? It was obvious he wanted me to say something more than "Oh" but I had nothing. "Umm, so…." Something clicked in my brain then and I made a quick connection. "This might sound weird, but what color is your, uhh, fur when you're a wolf?"

"Brown."

"Hmmm…" I said.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Have you ever been outside my house as a wolf?"

Jared looked sheepish. "Yeah, just to check on you, make sure you were all right." Well, that solved the problem of the mysterious large creature in the bushes in my backyard. It didn't solve my current situation, though. I was sitting next to a werewolf, and I no idea what to say. "Kim, are you… ok? I mean, I can leave if you want to think?" Jared looked like he wanted to stay more than anything. And I didn't want him to go.

"No! Stay, please. I don't want you to go."

"You mean you aren't going to freak out and scream and run away?" Jared asked.

I gave him a dirty look and he smiled. "No, I'm glad you told me. I have about a million questions to ask you, but I have no idea where to start."

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	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 9**

Jared seemed to be in a really good mood now. He held my hand as answered all my questions patiently. He told me about the other wolves in his "pack" and how Sam Uley was their leader, with Jacob Black, a boy I had seen at school once or twice, the second in command. I thought it was so strange how all of these ordinary people could turn into wolves at their own will. I now knew that when he was a wolf, Jared shared his thoughts with the others. They could all read each other's minds as wolves. That was weird, but I didn't comment. I had learned that Jared could change whenever he wanted, not just during the full moon, like books and movies made people think. He told me that when he got too angry he changed. Jared's face went somber as he said this, and he frowned since I guess I wasn't being as serious as he would have liked.

"Kim, listen, this is important. You've never seen Emily Young up close, have you?"

I hadn't.

"Half of her face has a big scar running down it."

"Yeah, I remember reading she got mauled by a -" I stopped and my eyes widened as I made another connection. Not a bear, but a wolf. "Oh my god, how did that happen?" Should I be afraid of Jared? I tried decide if I was scared or not, but I didn't feel any fear, just sadness for Emily and confusion about how that had happened to her. Jared looked at me sadly.

"Sam was the first one of us to change. It was so hard for him, he didn't have any help. One day he got too angry, lost control and Emily was standing too close. It tears him apart, Kim, knowing that he did that to her. Being around us is dangerous."

I now understood just how dangerous it really was. But I couldn't picture myself getting up and walking away, leaving Jared. It was too horrible of a thought. " I get that, but I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

Jared smiled and kissed me suddenly, unexpectedly. It was a sweet kiss, that didn't last very long, but I liked it just the same. "Fine by me," he said. We talked for a while more. There was so much I wanted to know. He wanted me to meet the rest of them, his pack. I wasn't quite ready to be in a room full of werewolves. I trusted Jared, but I didn't know these other people.

I think Jared understood that, but he still wanted to introduce them to me. So we agreed that I would go to some meeting they were having next week. He said it wouldn't just be the werewolves. There would be some other people there too, so I wouldn't be as uncomfortable. I liked that much better.

I tried to think of if I needed to know anything else right now. I think I knew most of the basics. But Jared had one more thing to tell me about.

"Imprinting is in the legends, but we thought it was rare occurrence, something that only happened once in a while," Jared was saying.

"But what is it?" I asked. I was playing with the sand, scooping it up and letting it sift through my fingers.

"I don't really know how to explain it. When one of us imprints it's like no one else exists but that person. That person is the only thing that keeps them going. She becomes the one who matters the most. Sam imprinted on Emily the first time he saw her after he became a wolf. If you could see the way he looks at her, this would all make sense." Jared paused. "Or you could just look at me whenever I see you."

I dropped the sand and stared at him. "What?"

Jared looked at me. "The first day when I drove you home, do you remember what happened in class that day?" It seemed like so long ago, but it wasn't. I remembered that was the first time I had ever really seen Jared's intense stare. I was so confused on what was happening then.

"Yeah I remember," I said softly, "You were staring and I ran out of the room."

He was smiling. "And I had to run and catch up. Because that's when it happened, when everything seemed to change for me." He stroked his fingers across my cheek, while I held onto his other hand. I could tell he was staring at me, but I didn't look up. "I realized that for all those years, you were right there in front of me and I was so stupid not to have seen it before. That's when I knew I was in love with you."

This all seemed a little too good to be true. So Jared was like in love me after one glance? That just didn't happen. When I started falling for Jared, it had been a gradual thing. I didn't just see him one day and decide, "Oh Jared looks good today and I think I'm in love with him." It took time.

"Jared, that's not how it works," I tried to be patient, "You don't just magically fall in love with someone like that. That may be true in the movies, but in real life, that's not how it happens."

"But that's what I'm trying to explain," he said patiently, "this is something different, and it can't be explained logically. It's a wolf thing and it does happen. It happened to Sam and Emily and now it's happening to me and you."

I think this was one too many weird things for one day. Jared was saying everything I wanted him to say, but it was so crazy I couldn't handle it. I started to stand up, but Jared still had my hand. "What are you doing?" he said. For once, he was the one who looked confused.

"I need to go home," I said, "My parents will be home soon and I have to start dinner." This was true, it was getting late and I needed to get home.

"You're leaving now?" Jared looked at me like I was the crazy one, even though he was the one who just said he had fallen in love with me after one glance. "I still have so much to explain. You don't get it yet."

"You're right, I don't, but it's going to have to wait," I almost couldn't believe I was running away after Jared had told me everything I wanted to hear. But I needed time to process this, and I couldn't do that while Jared was sitting there, looking so good and distracting me.

"How are you going to get home? I'll drive you," he said. I didn't want him to do that, because I was pretty sure he would be able to convince me that we needed more time to talk. But I really had no other way to get home. But then I remembered something. "No, that's okay, Sarah is volunteering at the library so she's in town. She can give me a ride." The beach was about two minutes away from town, so I could easily walk there.

I stood up and so did he. I kissed him on the cheek, and said, "I'll talk to you tomorrow. I need time to… think." He didn't look happy at all, and I was tempted to stay so badly. But I stayed strong and walked off, leaving Jared behind.

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**I felt like crying after that last part, but I think it's necessary. Kim just needs time to process everything by herself.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 10**

Sarah could probably tell something was wrong with me. She had been my friend for long enough that she knew when I wanted to talk about something and when I didn't. So she didn't ask what was wrong and insist that I spill my guts to her. She filled the silence in the car with her own chatter about nothing in particular: what she had done after the pipes burst at school, what she had for lunch, the people she had met while volunteering at the library. She didn't require much response from me, which was exactly what I needed.

I started dinner when I got home. I was forcing myself to not think about anything that Jared had told me. I needed to act normal around my parents, which would have been impossible if I was thinking about all of that. My parents didn't comment if they thought I was being extra quiet during dinner that night. I told them about my day at school and how the pipe had burst. I didn't tell them how I skipped school and spent the day at the beach with a boy. They would not appreciate that.

I escaped to my room after dinner. I made a point of not looking out my window to see if a certain brown wolf was out there. I didn't want to know if Jared was watching me. I did my homework, which kept my mind occupied.

It was only once I was safe in my room with my homework complete, did I let the day's events invade my brain.

Jared is a werewolf. He imprinted on me, which basically means he's in love me now. Emily Young was mauled, not by a bear, but by Sam Uley, who was also a werewolf. Sam imprinted on her and they were now engaged. There were a bunch of seemingly ordinary people who were also werewolves. They all knew everything that Jared was thinking and he knew their thoughts. Weird.

I wondered what Jared was doing right now.

Was he outside my house, not as Jared, the human, but as Jared, the wolf? I resisted going over to window to check. I laid down in my bed.

I was glad that I had left the beach when I did. I was probably about three seconds away from having a meltdown right there in the middle of the beach. Now that I was home in the comfort of my own room I was able to think more clearly and more calmly.

I thought about imprinting. Jared really seemed to think it was a real thing. I was less sure, though it did make sense. Everything that had happened with us started with that one moment in class. That was when everything changed. Maybe the whole imprinting thing was just another weird wolf thing. And maybe it would be better if I didn't fight against it, if I just let it be what it was. Jared loved me now and I was sure I loved him too.

I fell asleep with that happy thought in my head.

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I wasn't surprised when Jared was staring at me as I walked into last period. I could tell he was mad that I had walked off yesterday. He had a slight scowl on his face. He didn't seem to understand that I had worked through everything and could handle it better. Now I was happy so he should be too. I smiled at him and his expression became confused. But he did give me a puzzled little smile back before Mr. Walsh started talking.

I walked up to him after class, smiling still. It seemed like the smiling was contagious, because his face brightened too, though he was still confused. He stood up, wrapping his hand around mine as we walked. "So…" he said. "Is everything ok?" His eyes were questioning and looked kind of sad. I wanted that sadness out of there immediately.

"Yup," I stopped and pulled him to the side of the hall, where I leaned up on my tiptoes to kiss him. I could feel him smiling against my lips, as his arms slid around my waist. I pulled back a little to tell him, "I just needed a little time for everything to work itself out in my head. That was a lot to drop on me all at once."

"Sorry," he whispered before we kissed again. This was a perfect moment, so of course someone had to ruin it by shouting, "Get a room!" Jared looked up and gave someone the finger. "Go away," he said to the person behind me. I turned around, still in Jared's arms, to see a tall boy standing there. It was Jacob Black, a boy I had seen before but never talked to. And now I knew that he was a werewolf.

"So I guess you two are doing just fine now huh?" Jacob was grinning. I glanced at Jared; he had told this random boy that I had walked off last night? Then I remembered: weird wolf thing where they shared thoughts. I guess that meant all of the wolves knew about Jared imprinting on me. Jared just rolled his eyes at Jacob, and started leading me away. "I guess I'll see you later," Jacob called after us.

We walked out to Jared's car and got in. I still had some questions and Jacob had me think of some more. "So the whole sharing thoughts thing," I said, "Can you like hide anything? Certain things that you don't want them to see?"

Jared shook his head. "We all share everything, there's no way to hide anything. That part kind of sucks, but it's helpful when we're hunting down bloodsuckers." Jared had already explained that it was their duty to kill the vampires who would hurt innocent people. I didn't like to think about that though. Maybe he was a big strong wolf, but he was also a human who could get hurt. I blocked that thought out.

"So that's how Jacob knows me and how Sam and Emily knew my name."

"Yup," he said. We had just arrived at my house. I didn't get out yet, though, because I wanted to spend more time with Jared. He looked over at me, "So," he said with a smile on his face, "Can I come in?"

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	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 11**

"Uhh, yeah," I said, nervous now for some reason, "Come on in."

I unlocked and opened the front door. Jared gestured for me to go before him. I did taking off my shoes and putting them on the mat near the door, making sure they were lined up with the other pairs on the mat. I dumped my keys on the table, and put my bag under it. I took my jacket off and put it on the coat rack, making sure that the sleeves were straight. These were things I did everyday when I got home. They were comfortable and easy, little things I did without thinking. Jared was watching my little routine with a little smirk of amusement on his face.

"I never knew you were secretly this obsessive," he said. I slapped his arm lightly, "Don't judge me, werewolf." He grabbed my hand, pulling me closer. We stood in the doorway, just kissing. Jared ran his hands up and down my back, and my arms wound around his neck. When we needed to breathe, Jared didn't let me go, he leaned down and whispered into my ear, "Aren't you going to show me around?"

"Sure," my voice was breathless, but I was happy to hear that it didn't shake. I pulled away but held onto his hand. I led him into the kitchen, "Here's the kitchen, obviously." Jared nodded, glancing around. I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing. I'd never given a tour of my house before. "Ok, moving on," I said. I pulled him through the house, showing him each room. Finally, there was just my room left. I opened the door and stood back as he walked in.

Jared looked around, not intruding, just curious. He thumbed through the books on my shelf, paused to look at some of my posters. I stood awkwardly in the doorway, playing with the sleeve of my shirt. I had never had a boy in my room before, even when my parents were home. I felt nervous.

Jared sat down on my bed and motioned me to sit next to him. I perched on the edge, smiling nervously, my heart starting to pound louder. He pulled me closer to him, so that our legs were touching. He left his arm around me, his hand resting on my hip. I turned my face towards him and our lips met.

We kissed for a while, stopping to breathe when we needed too. Jared's thumb was rubbing back and forth across my hip, while his other hand moved up to my face, stroking my cheek, then my jaw. My hands didn't seem to know what to do. First they were clasped around his neck. Then one moved to his chest while the other moved to his hair.

When we finally broke apart, my cheeks were flushed and both of our breathing was shaky. We were both smiling. "Hi," I said. "Hey," he said, as he laid back on the bed. Then he noticed the pictures I had taped on the wall next to my bed, and sat back up to look at them. There were some of me and Sarah, a couple with our entire group of friends, some of me with Sarah's family. There were others of just me and my parents, and some random ones from different school events and different parties. Jared was smiling as he looked at them.

"I think I need some representation on this wall," he said still staring at the photos.

"I agree," I stood up quietly while he was absorbed with the pictures, and got my digital camera from where it laid on my desk. I took his picture before he could react. "Hey!" he said.

"You wanted a spot on the wall didn't you?" I asked, as I looked at the playback screen. There he was, no looking at the camera, but looking gorgeous all the same. "Let me see," he said.

"Don't delete it," I warned as I handed it over. He looked at it then said jokingly, "You didn't even get my good side."

"Maybe that's because you don't have one," I retorted, laughing. Jared snapped my picture while I was laughing, the flash blinding my eyes. "You, on the other hand," he said, as he looked at the picture, "have nothing but good sides."

I blushed and rolled my eyes. Jared moved over so our heads were close and took a picture of the two of us. He flipped the camera over and hit the playback button. There we were. That was definitely a picture for my wall. Jared said, "That's the one I want as my representation. And I want a copy for myself, too."

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We didn't do much after that. Jared found my old yearbooks hidden amongst the other books on the shelf. We flipped through them laughing at how much everyone had changed. Jared teased me mercilessly over one picture he found of me and Sarah, back when we both had braces, and she had glasses. I was yanking the book away, as I heard the front door open. I froze.

"What time is it?" I asked frantic. "I think my parents are home!" It had gotten dark out and I had barely even noticed. "Ugh, what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do," I was mumbling and pacing, while meanwhile, Jared was still sprawled on my bed.

"Get up!" I whispered to him. He sat up, not seeming worried or panicked that my parents could bust in any second. "You are going to stay here, while I'll go start dinner," I told him, "Then when my parents go to their room, I'll come get you and you go home."

"What, you don't want to tell them you've been home alone with a boy all day?" he was not being serious, grinning while I was busy formulating a plan. I was not introducing my parents to Jared, not yet. It would extremely awkward if they saw him coming out of my bedroom. "You, stay, and be quiet," I said. He put on a mock serious face and saluted me, while I scowled at him and walked out of the room. Did he want to get me grounded forever? Cause that's what would probably happen if my parents found him in my room.

I greeted them and talked for a minute, before getting some food out for dinner. I watched as they walked towards their room to change out of their work clothes, and then sprinted on tiptoes to my room. I opened the door, expecting to find Jared on my bed. He wasn't there.

"Jared?" I whispered.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 12**

I heard him chuckling. "Yes?" he said, though I couldn't see him. I glanced around, and then noticed my window was open and Jared was standing outside of it.

"How did you get out there?" I asked walking over to the window. My desk was located right in front of which would have made it hard to climb out. Jared's lanky body probably wouldn't have helped either.

"I jumped out," he said, "I thought this would be easier than sneaking me through your house."

"You're probably right."

"If we're going to keep doing this, you might want to rearrange your room. It would make my secret getaways a lot easier."

I laughed quietly, "I'll keep that in mind."

I pushed the books and papers that covered my desk to the side, creating just enough space for me to kneel on it. I leaned through the window and kissed Jared once. "See you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Of course," he replied, "See you." He walked off towards the front of my house, towards his car. Luckily, my parents either hadn't realized there was a strange car near our house or hadn't thought to ask me about it. I hoped it was the former.

I had a nice dinner with them, in which neither of them mentioned the car. I was going to have to introduce them to Jared eventually though. I wondered how I would do that, _"Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Jared. He's also a werewolf and runs around our house sometimes, so don't freak out if you see a giant wolf in the backyard."_ Yeah that would go over real well. They'd have both me and Jared committed to a mental hospital within the hour. They only needed to know about Jared, my boyfriend, not Jared the wolf.

"So how did that Spanish test go? The one you were studying for yesterday?" my dad asked.

"Fine, I think," I said once I had finished chewing, "I knew most of the answers."

"That's good," he said. There was some silence, and I thought "_This is your chance, tell them about Jared"_. I hesitated for too long and the conversation moved on. Well, I could always tell them another day.

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The days passed by quickly. Sarah would drive me to school, Jared would drive me home. He'd come in, or we'd sit out in the backyard on the big wooden swing my dad had built. We'd make out, then talk, then make out some more, and talk. It was all in all, a great way to spend my days. At night sometimes, I would look out my window and see the brown wolf outside. Though I wasn't in any danger, I felt safe knowing he was there.

Jared would always sneak out when we heard my parents pull in the driveway. But it was getting harder and harder to make him leave. He wanted to meet my parents, but I was nervous. I had never really had a serious boyfriend like Jared before. I had never introduced a boy to my parents before. It was nerve wrecking.

But finally on the night when Jared and I were supposed to go to the big wolf gathering, I decided it was time. I think my mom knew something was up, because sometimes I would stare off into space during dinner, thinking about Jared. My dad was clueless, but I was sure my mom would tell him something eventually. It was time to introduce them to Jared.

Jared snuck out, saying he would be back later to pick me up. I had warned him that he would have to come to the door and meet my parents. I tried to mentally prepare myself while I started dinner.

I was unusually quiet through most of the meal. Not only was I anxious about telling my parents, but I was also going to meet the rest of Jared's "brothers". They all knew about me and Jared had told me some things about them, but it was still making me apprehensive.

"So what are you doing tonight sweetheart?" my mom asked. This was the perfect opportunity and this time I would tell them.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that," I started.

"Go on," my mom said, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"I was planning on hanging out with this boy from school, Jared. If that's okay?" I trailed off.

My dad stopped eating, "Oh? And where are you two going?"

I had thought ahead on this one, since I obviously couldn't tell them we were hanging out with a bunch of werewolves. "Oh, we're going to hang out with some other people from school."

"Hmm," my dad said. I could tell he liked it better that we were not going to be out just the two of us.

"We do get to meet this boy, when he comes to pick you up?" my mom asked.

Groaning inwardly, I said, "Yes, mom." We had finished dinner. I began to cover some of the dished to save as leftovers, my mom cleared the plates, and my dad put away the condiments.

"What time is he coming?" my dad wanted to know.

"He should be here in an about an hour," I said, "I'll be in my room; I have to get ready." I walked to my room, hearing them beginning to whisper about me as I went.

The doorbell rang an hour later, just as I was finishing fixing my hair.

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	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 13**

"Here we go," I thought. I ran to the front door, making sure I beat my parents there. I opened it, and Jared was standing there. "Hey," he said. "Hi," I smiled.

He took a big breath and rubbed his hands together, like he was warming up for something. "Ok, let's do this," he said. I stood aside, and let him by, not kissing or touching him since my parents were probably spying on us from the kitchen.

I was wrong; they were waiting to assault us in the living room. My mom had on her high pitched fake voice as she said, "Oh Kim, who's this?" Like they didn't already know.

"Mom, Dad, this is Jared. Jared this is my mom, Carol, and my dad, David." Jared shook both of their hands. "Nice to meet you, Jared," my mom said, glancing at me while she shook his hand, "Kimmy's never introduced us to one of her boyfriends before."

Oh, God, please tell me she did not just say that. Way to make me soon cool, Mom. My face darkened as I blushed with embarrassment. "_Please let this be over soon_," I thought, "_Please, please."_

There was an awkward pause as we all stood there. Jared shifted his weight from one foot to another, and I fidgeted. My mom and I started talking at the same time.

"Well, we'd better be going-,"I said.

"So why don't we sit down for a few minutes-" she said.

We glared at each other, but I refused to back down. "No, Mom, I think we really need to be going."

"Oh, sweetie I'm sure you and Jared can spare a few min-"

"Sorry Mom, but really we're late as it is," I glanced at Jared to back me up. "Oh yeah, we should probably go," he said.

"And where is it your going again?" my dad asked.

I answered before Jared had a chance, "I told you we're just hanging out with some people from school. You don't know them." I didn't want Jared to blow my cover, accidentally.

My dad turned to Jared. "And what time will you have my daughter home?" I was cringing inside. My parents were trying to kill me. Again, I answered before Jared could even open his mouth. "Dad, I know my curfew, we'll be home before then. We really have to go."

I grabbed Jared's hand and started pulling him towards the door. "Bye, Jared! It was really lovely to meet you," my mom called from the living room. They were following us to the front door. "Likewise, Mrs. Connweller," Jared said. I rolled my eyes; what a suck-up.

"Please, call me Carol," my mom replied. I had to get out of here. We were almost to the door, almost towards freedom. One more step. Yes! My hand was on the doorknob and I all but pushed Jared out the door. I gave my parents a look and they just smiled. Mom even said, "Have a good time sweetie." I would deal with them tomorrow. I closed the door.

"Oh my God," I said. I wanted to collapse where I stood. Jared tried to put his arms around me, but I waved him off. "They're watching from the windows," I said. We both glanced up at the house in amusement; and sure enough, the curtain was sliding back into place. I groaned out loud.

"Let's just go please," I said, "quickly." He took my hand as he led me to the car. "I don't think your dad will kill me for holding your hand," he said. He opened my door for me and shut it behind me. I started talking as he got in. "Could they be any more humiliating?" I asked him. He smiled and took my hand. "It wasn't that bad," he tried to console me.

"Were you there?" I asked, "Did you not hear them? It was awful." Jared just rubbed my hand reassuringly, trying to convince me that my parents were just so sweet and caring. I wasn't having it, but I let him try to assure me anyway.

Jared was driving away from town towards the woods. I couldn't really tell where we going since it was dark out. I wondered what was going to happen at this meeting. Jared had said it was kind of a party and said there would be lots of food. But I didn't know much more than that.

We got to a place in the woods where a bunch of cars were parked. They were all empty, but there was no one around. "Where is everybody?" I asked. "Up there a little ways," Jared answered, pointing to a well-beaten path. Jared held my hand as we walked. I noticed small tire tracks in the dirt of the path. Had they brought like a wheelbarrow up the path or something?

The path was easy to walk on but Jared kept glancing over at me to make sure that I wasn't stumbling or tripping. I could hear friendly voices now and I saw a light at the end of the path. "_They must have a fire going,_" I thought. I was excited; I loved bonfires. My family and Sarah's family have one every year in the summertime.

We finally made it to the top of the pathway. I saw that the meeting was taking place on the top of a cliff. I glanced around; there were a bunch of people here. Most of them were young, but there were a few older people including one man in a wheelchair. Well, that explained the tire tracks on the path.

The chatter going on was friendly and cheerful. Everyone here seemed to know each other. I wondered if I was the only new person here.

"Hey Jared, Kim!" someone called out, walking over to us.

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	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 13**

It was Sam, with his arm around Emily. This was my first time seeing Emily's face up close. There were three long red scars running down the right side of her face. The other half of her face was so beautiful though. Jared had told me how horrible Sam felt, even after all this time. The scars didn't seem to dampen any of the feelings they had for each other. When Sam looked at Emily, it was like there was no one else in the world.

I wondered how Jared and I looked to other people. Did we seem like Sam and Emily?

They introduced themselves for real, even though we all knew each other. They showed us where all the food was. Then Jared introduced me to everyone else. I was pretty good with names, so I remembered everyone. Embry, Quil, and Paul were the other wolves. The older man in the wheelchair was Jacob Black's father, Billy. Sitting with Billy was a man Jared called Old Quil, who was Quil's father and a woman who I knew was Sue Clearwater. Her two children, Seth and Leah were also here.

I noticed that Jacob Black was missing.

I mentioned it to Jared, who said he'd be here later with a friend. Jared had a weird tone when he said that, but I didn't push the issue. We walked over and got some food.

After Jared had eaten enough food for five people, we sat down against one of the rocks. I guess I didn't sit down close enough to Jared because he put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.

I didn't mind.

Jared seemed relaxed here, comfortable and happy. These people were like his family, I realized. They were his brothers.

I was comfortable too, sitting here with Jared's arm around me. Jared was glancing over at me, giving me some of his intense looks. Every time I caught one his stares, I looked away, embarrassed. I didn't know why he kept looking at me like that. But I could never look away for too long.

We were sitting there when the last two people showed up. It was Jacob Black, with a girl. Jared whispered in my ear, "That's Bella Swan." Jacob and the girl, Bella, sat down by Sam and Emily. I studied her. She was pale, had plain brown hair and brown eyes. She was around my height. Everyone seemed to know her.

Embry shouted, "Hey, vampire girl!" Wait. What did that mean? I filed it away to ask Jared about later.

Quil gave Bella a high five and a kiss on the cheek, and Emily squeezed her hand.

I felt like this girl must be important, since everyone knew who she was. But, she seemed like an ordinary girl to me. I wondered what was so special about her.

The food had been so good I had eaten every bite and now I had that content sleepy feeling that you get when you're full. I leaned back into Jared's chest, and sighed. Both of his warm arms wrapped around me and I could feel my eyelids drooping. But before I could fall asleep, I felt him nudge me and pull me upright carefully.

I opened my eyes, looking at Jared. He whispered, "You don't want to miss this part. They're gonna tell the stories of our people, the legends I was trying to explain to you."

He was right; I did want to here this. Everyone was turned towards the three older people here. Emily even had a notebook and pen out to take notes. Billy Black was the one who actually told the stories.

The first legends were really fascinating. I had never heard them before.

Then Billy spoke about the Cold Ones, blood drinkers. Vampires, is what I thought he was talking about. First werewolves, then vampires? Why hadn't Jared told me? He had explained that the Cold Ones were the wolves' natural enemies, but he neglected to mention that the Cold Ones were actually vampires.

There was so much I didn't know about the world. What other legends were real?

The serious tone that the story telling had brought was once again replaced with a friendly atmosphere. I had more questions for Jared, but I was too tired to ask them right now. I saw that Bella had fallen asleep, so I knew I wasn't the only sleepy one.

Soon Jared declared it was time for us to be getting home. I didn't know what time it was, but it seemed late. I hoped my parents weren't waiting up for me.

Jared half carried me back to the car. I decided to save my questions for another day.

We rode back to my house in a comfortable silence. When we got there, only the porch light was on, so my parents were most likely asleep.

Jared walked me to the front door.

"So, did you like it?" he asked, when we reached the door.

"It was really interesting," I answered, "And just to warn you, I have a ton of questions, but I'm too tired to ask them tonight."

He smiled, pushing a stray piece of my hair off my face. He kissed my forehead, and then my lips, softly.

"Well, I'll let you get your beauty sleep then."

I fumbled with my key, and slowly unlocked the door. I stood in the doorway as Jared walked back to his car and waved as he got in. He waved and drove off.

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	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not any of the Twilight characters or anything involving the Twilight Saga. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 15**

"So werewolves and vampires?" I asked, "Anything else?"

Jared and I were lying in my backyard, on a blanket that I found in the shed. I was curled up next to him while we talked. It was Saturday and my parents were out to lunch, which gave us plenty of time to talk.

"Not that I know of," Jared said with a smile.

He had already explained that vampires were the wolves' enemy, the reason that the werewolves existed in the first place. Most of the vampires in the world were horrible creatures who drank people's blood and killed them.

However, he did explain that were a few vampires who weren't as bad as the others. These ones lived near us, in the town of Forks. I had heard of one of them, Dr. Cullen, the good-looking man who worked at the hospital. People in town were refusing to go to the hospital. I hadn't understood why before, but now I did.

I was taking all of this new information in stride. I figured that after the whole werewolf thing, I was pretty hard to surprise.

But when Jared told me that Bella Swan was dating one of the vampires, I was stunned. A human dating a bloodsucker? How could she stand it?

Maybe it was hypocritical of me. After all, I was a human dating a werewolf.

It was different for us though. Jared was more human, more alive. I couldn't understand how she could be with him.

Jared agreed with me.

Then I felt bad. I shouldn't be passing judgments on these people. Didn't I hate it when people looked at me when I was with Jared? I knew they were thinking, "What's a popular guy like him doing with such a loser like her?" Jared didn't notice their judgments and I was beginning to become immune to them too. But it still hurt.

Jared was quiet. Too quiet. I glanced over at him and saw that he had this weird look on his face like he was trying not to tell me something.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "What else is there?"

He shook his head, not wanting to open his mouth and blurt it out.

"Come on," I said, "You know you want to tell me."

He just kept shaking his head. What was he trying to keep from me?

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to persuade you," I tried to say seductively. I felt stupid, but hey, whatever works. I propped myself up on one elbow. I started kissing his jaw, slowly making my way to his mouth. My free hand knotted itself in his hair. I kissed his mouth once, before moving my lips to his ear. "C'mon Jared," I whispered.

He groaned in defeat, kissing me before he started to talk. I smiled in victory. "_It worked_!" I thought happily.

"Last year, the Cullens left, and Bella was like really depressed. Her and Jacob became really good friends. Really, really good friends. She was still in love with the bloodsucker though, and as soon as he came back, she dropped Jake and went back to the bloodsucker. Jake loved her and still does. But now they're all trying to be friends or something."

Poor Jacob. I could see why Jared hadn't wanted to tell me. It made me feel so bad for Jake. How could he stand to be friends with her when she didn't love him back?

I knew what it was like to pine after someone who didn't love you back. Luckily for me, there wasn't some bloodsucker that Jared wanted to be with. There was just me.

And I know we aren't perfect, Jared and me. He was constantly going to have to leave to do wolf things and I was going to be here left behind.

There was part of him that I would probably never really understand since I wasn't a wolf and didn't know his every thought.

But whenever we were together, we made each other happy. And that's really all matters to me.

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**And that's the end! Thanks to everyone who read the whole story! **

**I really had fun writing this. Maybe I'll write another when I get some more ideas? No promises though.**

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**4/13 EDIT: For those of you who liked this, you might also like my Claire/Quil oneshot called Crushed Valentine. :)**


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